These days, Consumer is a specie which is being in the prime focus of the predators of Corporate Jungle ,but which is surely is not on the verge of extinction, rather has turned the tables for these Mammoths of the jungle & has become the MAHARAJAH with all other animals worshipping the King & doing everything which would delight him.They keep a track of the demeanour of Customer & mould themselves accordingly in the marketplace.
They develop strategies to attract him & compete amongst each other to get his attention.This behaviour is very pronounced in the modern retail stores,where the brands of the companies are so placed at a level such that products which are kept below the eye level.The Marketers get into a tacit contract with the store managers to put their brands at the level mentioned above.It has been observed that the products which are Fast Moving in the store in a given category would be those which are kept below the eye level & are easier to pick & are not at the extremes.An exception would occur only if the customer has a strong brand loyalty & will look out for the brand that he really wants to purchase. This strategy of Marketers is more visible whenever there is either a New Product Launch or Some other Sales Promotion activities happen around, or when the Company has a Strategic Mandate to wipe off the competition by being visible in the shelf. There are a few product categories where there is low Brand loyalty of the consumer & he gets attracted to either the packaging of the product , or the newer tastes,fragrances & has an experimenting mindset like that of some youngsters e.g. Biscuits,Confectionries, Soaps etc.
But, I feel that marketers should also take into consideration ,the role of the Sales personnel in the store who actually are the drivers of the sales most of the times.The brands & Products have to be visible in the marketplace for them to sell.There should be a concerted effort of the marketers along with the store Mangers to train the Sales guys to do well & strategically locate the products.It is the duty of the sales person/attendant to ensure that the shelf is full, because if the shelf is half full or less than that ,then it significantly erodes the Brand Equity of the product & thus erasing the propensity of the consumer to buy.
So, Consumer's behaviour has to be constantly monitored by the Marketers to ensure the successful movement of products from Shelf.
